"The guy is very impressive, he’s got ideas that are bang on, but it’s the way he presents it," says Gregory Slayton, a venture capitalist from Hanover. "He makes jokes people don’t get, his timing isn’t right. On paper, the guy is strong, but it may be too little, too late."

Part of the reason Huntsman has struggled to catch fire is his mixed messaging. Huntsman was tagged as a moderate early on because of his deviation from conservative dogma on issues like global warming. But he is a moderate in temperament only; his record and proposals on fiscal issues are among the most conservative in the field. Huntsman’s problem — one of them, anyway — is that he hasn’t made that clear.

Along the same lines, Larison continues to insist that Huntsman isn't moderate. Joe Coscarelli notes that every candidate has gotten a surge, which makes Huntsman's polling improvement less remarkable:

[I]f Huntsman's New Hampshire bump isn't proof enough that every Republican in this race gets their own little surge at some point, consider this: In the Granite State, Buddy Roemer is now polling above Rick Perry, who's alone in last place.